He most likely wouldn’t be a Division I athlete. He potentially wouldn’t have graduated from high school. He definitely wouldn’t be the man he is today.

“To this day, I’ll always be the first person to say I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Garry Hill-Thomas,” Short said. “If people asked me how I got here, he’d be one of the first guys I talk about.”

Aaron Short looks for a teammate during a game against McQueen during the 2010 season. (RGJ file)

Short, who was born in Reno, returns to town Friday night when his Pacific Tigers take on the Wolf Pack at 7:05 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center. Of all the D-I basketball talent that has spilled out of Reno in recent years – Luke Babbitt, Armon Johnson, Olek Czyz, Austin Morgan, etc. – Short is the forgotten star.

That is partially his fault. Short’s freshman, sophomore and junior seasons were cut short, each time because he failed academic requirements and was suspended at midseason.

Hill-Thomas, the former Wolf Pack standout who is now a graduate assistant at Nevada, became North Valleys’ head coach prior to Short’s senior season. He helped turned around the youngster’s life.

“At that time, he was so used to so many people saying negative things about him,” Hill-Thomas said. “People would tell him that he had a Ferrari body and a junkyard mind. I saw a kid who was a Division I player. He had a great body. He could play. There were just little things he had to tighten up at.”

Hill-Thomas said he saw a younger version of himself in Short, a young kid with a ton of potential. Short just didn’t have the right mentorship, positive people who knew what buttons to push to make him go.

Using positive reinforcement and strict discipline, Hill-Thomas pushed his young star to get the best out of himself. He told Short not to do it for himself. He wanted him to do it for his parents, for his teammates, for his coaches. If he failed to reach his ceiling, he was hurting those people around him.

“With other coaches, I was just their player,” Short said. “With Garry, he was kind of like a father figure. He was always on me to make sure I was doing the right things and living up to my potential.”

Hill-Thomas knew Short had turned the corner halfway through his senior season when grade-checks were due. The previous three years, those grade-checks meant Short’s season was over. During his senior year, a season in which he led North Valleys to the playoffs, Short proved to be a new man.

“The grade-checks were due and I said, ‘All right. Here we go! This is the week,’” Hill-Thomas recalled. “Aaron said, ‘Coach, I’ve been on it. I’ve been talking to my teachers. I’ve been on it. I promise coach. I promise.’ We got his report card and sure enough he was clear and free. Later that year, he graduated.”

The academic issues early in high school pushed away D-I schools, but Short landed at Cabrillo College, near Santa Cruz, Calif., where he starred for two seasons before Pacific offered a scholarship. After redshirting last year because of a fracture in his right foot, Short will play a big role this year.

The strong-bodied Short has been dealing with a hamstring injury, but will play Friday and has accepted the role of defensive stopper. Pacific coach Ron Verlin said Short, who won the team’s preseason slam dunk contest, has been a solid player on the court and a model citizen off it.

“He’s 6-3, 6-4 and 215-220 pounds,” said Verlin, who takes over for longtime coach Bob Thomason. “He’s very physical and very explosive and those two things give him a great Division I body. Defensively, he’s a shut-down guy. He’s really improved his offensive game as well. He’s doing a great job.”

Short expects 15-20 friends and family in attendance for Friday's game. Hill-Thomas will be on the Wolf Pack’s bench, coaching against Short for the first time. Both might not be in this position without one another.

While Hill-Thomas played a huge role in Short’s maturation, the truth is Short gave just as much back to his coach. Hill-Thomas said he secretly needed Short to help him see that coaching, and helping transform young men’s lives, was something he was meant to do.

On Friday, these two will face off on separate teams, foes for one night. But they’ll be friends for a lifetime.

“I was talking with my wife the other night and I said, ‘I might break a tear before the game,’” Hill-Thomas said. “To see him get to where he is today, it’s a great story. It’s just a really special story.”

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.